Beetroot (also known as red beet or Beta vulgaris, but not to be confused with sugar beet) products have been very popular the latest years in part due to the surprising discovery that nitrate can reduce blood pressure, help maintain healthy blood pressure, improve athletic performance, reduce oxygen consumption, and generally help with general health, wellness and performance. Because beetroot is one of the vegetables containing the highest amount of nitrate (average range of 1459 [644-1800] mg/kg fresh weight and as high as 4500m g/kg of dry weight), beetroot has been the prime candidate for the development of natural nitrate containing products that also comply with regulations established by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Advantages of using beetroot as a nitrate source include that it is a natural source and that beetroot can provide nitrate while complying with all standards and regulations established by the FDA and other health organization unlike artificial sources of nitrate like sodium nitrate. Another advantage is that beetroot can be available in “organic” form (according to the standards for “organic foods” established by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) or other organic food standards) for people who are interested in natural, pesticide-free, and additive-free nitrate sources.
Studies on the health benefits of nitrate increasingly emerged in the past 10 years. According to the studies, the minimal dose of nitrate required to produce effects is about 50 mg; however, the majority of studies show more significant results starting at 150 mg with the recommended amount being around 322 mg nitrate/day. It is notable that most of the studies regarding the benefits of nitrate supplementation have been done on beetroot juice. Furthermore, and more importantly, beetroot juice high in nitrate supplementation has been shown to be superior to supplementation with sodium nitrate containing equimolar amount of nitrate for athletic performance as well as for blood pressure reduction.
Despite the many potential benefits of red beet supplementation, it has not been practical for daily supplementation with beetroot products. First, not every person is willing to eat beets every day. Second, many find the “earthy” taste of beetroot, which is due to geosmin found in beetroot, objectionable. Third, beets are naturally high in sugars, containing about 7 g sugars and a total of 10 g carbs per 100 g raw weight. More concentrated beet products, like beetroot juice or beetroot powder have even higher amounts of sugars, containing 9-10 g sugars per 100 ml. This can make consumption of beet products problematic for people who require low carbohydrate/sugar intake, such as diabetics or those looking to lose weight. Finally, the high carbohydrate content per dry weight of beetroot or beetroot powder also makes it difficult to make practical solid products, such as tablets, capsules or powder, that contain an efficacious dose of nitrate from beetroot juice.
All of the current beetroot dry products are either dried beetroot powder product or dried beet juice products. The content of nitrate in existing beetroot powder products is generally low, containing about 0.8 to a maximum of 2.5% of nitrate by weight. Because of the low content of nitrate in existing dried beetroot products, the vast majority does not even state the exact amount of nitrates contained in the product. Using Vernier's nitrate ion-selection electrode, the amount of nitrate in three popular powdered beetroot products marketed as “high in nitrate” actually only contained between 1% and 2.5% nitrate by weight.
Based on the concentration of nitrate in these “high in nitrate” dried beetroot products, it is very impractical to add efficacious amounts of beetroot in dry supplements/food products. To achieve the minimum studied dose of 157 mg nitrate, one would have to consume 15,700 mg or 15.7 g of powder (if the powder contained 1% nitrate), which at minimum would equal between 15 to 20 size 000 capsules. It is not surprising that no beetroot-based supplement to date can practically provide the efficacious dose of nitrate. Thus, the product labels falsely claim the benefits of nitrate administration while containing non-efficacious amounts. Accordingly, there is a long-felt need in the market for products made from beetroot higher in nitrate than 3%, which would allow for convenient administration of efficacious doses of nitrate.